Short Sand Beach is about 1.5 hours of drive time from Portland. It is a popular beach for surfers as the beach is at an enclosed cove and thus the wind is not as strong. The beach is only 15 minutes south of another popular beach, Cannon Beach. Short Sand Beach require people to do a short hike from the parking lot but the hiking trail is quite easy and very family friendly.
We got to Short Sand Beach around 10AM in the morning and the parking lot was nearly full. Since it is a very popular beach, we recommend to arrive early to get a parking space. Since Short Sand Beach is part of Oswald West State Park, there is a $10 day use fee required.
The trail was quite easy. It was very wide and very flat. From the parking lot to the beach, the trail was mostly going downwards towards the beach. Near the end of the trail, there were few obstacles where we had to cross large tree logs but these were not showstopper issues.
When we got to the beach, it was at a cove and really beautiful. It was during the low tide and we could go along the cliff side to look at all the tide pools. There were also many surfers along the beach side getting ready to surf the ocean. There were also people getting the wood log ready to set up some bonfire on the beach.
Overall, the Short Sand Beach was a beautiful beach that is really accessible and very family friendly. We did not get to spend as much time here as we wanted, but we would definitely come back again and spend the whole day here.
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